Believe
by Javanyet
Summary: A routine away mission gone bad prompts a shift in Leo's attitude vis a vis matrimony.
1. Routine

_if you can look in my eyes  
and tell me we'll be all right  
if you promise never to leave  
__you just might make me believe_

* * *

It was a routine survey of a class M planet in the Delta quadrant. The Enterprise had returned after a few days back in Earth's solar system, where they'd remained long enough to take part in the Federation-wide communication of Boothby's memorial service. Far from being disappointed by their inability to join the hundreds who assembled at the Academy, Picard and the crewmembers who knew Boothby well were comforted by the extraordinary awareness of the thousands more who were joined visually via subspace to say goodbye to someone who'd had such a singular effect on them all. Drinks and stories were shared in Ten Forward afterward, and even the captain joined in. But after respects were paid and remembrances swapped, it was back to the everyday. 

Planet survey was something they'd done hundreds of times. Leo processed the away team assignments as always, according to the captain's orders by seniority and skill level, including Geordi and Data as team commanders, and several other lower-ranked crew representing science and engineering. Routine in every respect. It was so easy to forget that nothing in deep space was routine.

"Captain, we've lost communication with the shuttle," the ensign announced. Several moments went by as she tried to raise them again. "I'm sorry sir, nothing."

"Commander Worf, is there any evidence of hostile presence we may have missed?"

Worf examined his console closely, ran additional scans. "No evidence of any ship but ours. There is a spike in electromagnetic activity where the shuttle was intending to land, but it is not related to unnatural phenomena. It is also rising and falling in an unpredictable pattern."

"Put the planet on visual, Ensign Bhanti."

As the image of a planet swept by storms appeared, the science officer reported, "Captain, storms of unknown origin have seemed to come up from nowhere."

"Are these atypical, Lieutenant?"

"We have no way of knowing, sir. Not enough is known of this planet system to be sure."

"Number One, advise engineering to isolate the nature of these storms, and include Commander O'Brien. Maybe we can transport the away team if the shuttle is inoperative." He avoided the use of the word "damaged". Nothing could be assumed at this point, but it was never a good sign to lose contact with a well-equipped away team so abruptly.

"Aye, sir." Riker was up and gone as he hit his combadge, "Riker to engineering, assemble senior staff. Mr. O'Brien, I'll need you too."

Picard hit the link to Leo's office. "Lieutenant O'Reilly, contact the nearest starbase, and have them send us everything they have on this quadrant and the weather systems typical of planetary systems neighboring this one. Top priority."

"Right away, sir." Too well trained to ask why, Leo fulfilled the order and shoved her concerns aside as best she could. Minutes later she was on the bridge and handed the PADD to Picard.

"Captain, the starbase at Denurian IV was the nearest to our position. This is all they could provide. Sudden electromagnetic storms, origin and duration unknown. High level of interference with navigation and communications systems, high probability of completely disabling of those systems in smaller craft." She was in the habit of reciting the basics as Picard read the details of communications, something he didn't discourage because it could distill what he was reading as he read it. Why nobody had thought to to let them know about these phenomena in advance was a question for another time.

"Storm clearing, captain," Lt. Angeletti reported from the science station.

"Ensign Bhanti," Picard began.

"Way ahead of you, sir," she interrupted, executing the order before he'd issued it. "Still can't raise them."

Worf announced, "Captain, I'm reading the presence of a craft on the planet's surface."

"Damage?"

"Impossible to tell."

"Lt. O'Reilly, have Number One dispatch an away team to the surface, and include someone from cybernetics. Mr. Worf, communicate the coordinates of the craft to Mr. O'Brien so he can transport the away team directly to the location." Now Picard contacted sickbay. "Dr. Crusher, report to transporter room one to accompany an away team to the planet's surface. We don't know whether or not there are casualties to attend to. Bring whatever assistance you deem necessary."

The captain sat back tensely in the conn chair as Leo returned from the ready room. "Five member away team dispatched to transporter room one, sir, under Commander Riker."

"Lt. Angeletti, is there any sign of magnetic disturbance?"

"None, sir."

"Commander O'Brien, is the away team assembled?"

"Aye, sir. Ready to transport."

"Very well. Make it so."

All necessary and possible orders issued, Picard turned to Leo. "Have a seat, Lieutenant. You'll know as soon as we do."

She dropped into the first officer's customary seat, not answering, eyes glued to the viewscreen as if she could keep any further disturbances away by sheer force of will. "Are we in synchronous orbit, ensign?" she asked the crew member at navigation.

"Yes, Lieutenant."

Not that it would make much difference if any of them could see disaster approaching.


	2. Take my word for it

She'd never seen him deactivated, "shut off". Human, organic friends and others she'd seen in hospital beds in various stages of illness, unconsciousness, sleep. She supposed this was rather like that, except he wasn't lying down tucked in a hospital bed. He wasn't lying down at all. There he was, upright in the cybernetics diagnostic bay, in whatever positronic stasis had been triggered by electromagnetic storm surges and a little physical battering upon impact. His eyes were wide open (no need for them to close, of course) and as lifeless as a stuffed animal's. The lights _weren't_ on and nobody was home. But that wasn't what bothered her. What really twisted her inside was knowing that he was in there, needing only for the right circuit to be repaired to switch on who he was and then his eyes would regain their life as if it had never been absent. And when they did nothing would be changed, in him or her. He'd still love no other, and she'd still love him as he stood in front of her, not recalling for even a heartbeat the unplugged machine she stood before right now. This wasn't him, but it would become him when the synapses fired again. No different from her. No different at all.

* * *

"Geordi, it's me." Geordi hadn't been badly injured in the rough landing, none of them had, but he'd been shaken and rattled, bruised enough to be ordered to take two days' sick leave before engaging in the reclamation of his best friend. Unlike a human, Data's condition couldn't deteriorate. It was what it was, and would wait patiently for whatever Geordi found was necessary to restore him. 

Knowing who was waiting at the door, Geordi didn't bother with his VISOR. He was comfortable enough to "go naked" in front of his closest friends.

"Hey, Leo. Come on in."

"How you feeling?" Leo settled next to Geordi on the expansive black leather lounge sofa that took up much of one wall of the outer room of his quarters. Geordi loved his creature comforts, in spades.

"What Beverly couldn't fix is still a little stiff and sore, but I'm fine." He added hastily, "I'm gonna get to work as soon as the captain lifts my quarantine."

"I know that. It's not why I'm here."

"If you're worried about Data, his circuits are a little scrambled but I really don't think there's any permanent damage. Repolarize a few pathways, align a few circuits, and he'll be good as new. What's that?" She'd put a small cube into his hand.

"Something I've been trying to ignore. Something that's too important to ignore anymore."

"Ah. The emotion chip."

"So he told you."

"I'm his best friend. What did you expect? But why are you giving it to me now?"

"Because it's not mine to ignore, is it? Data's wanted this all his life . He wants this more than anything."

Geordi found Leo's hand with his first reach, and squeezed it firmly. "You're wrong. He wants _you_ more than anything, you and a life with you in whatever way will make you happy."

She sighed. "I'll bet you're wondering how I got to be such a selfish bitch. _This_ wanting has been a part of him since long before I came around, but I can't manage to be reasonable can I? I wish I could be noble, Geordi, I wish I could pretend to be blinded by joy at the prospect of him becoming a real live boy. But I can't, it just scares me too much."

Geordi withdrew his hand. "I gotta ask."

"Ask what?"

"When _did_ you become such a coward?"

"What the hell?" She'd been tiptoeing delicately toward guilt, and it was jarring to be jerked all the way into responsibility.

"Well come on. You've been through hell and back to prove to everyone, to _scream_ in their faces, that you and Data deserve the same chance as anybody else to make a life together. But when it comes right down to it, you don't have the guts to take the chance. Or else maybe you think you deserve a sure thing, when the rest of us don't." He read her silence, accurately, as stunned speechlessness more than anger, so he went on. "Have you forgotten how you came to the luxury of this dilemma? You jumped from every sure thing you ever knew into a beam of light with a gang of strangers into a world so foreign you had to start from scratch. You _did_ start from scratch, but somewhere along the line you traded leaping for standing still, and worse. Now you're holding someone else back, someone who only wants to be able to feel for you what he knows you feel for him. And all because you don't know how it'll turn out. If you'd _always_ been like that you'd still be living alone in the woods."

"There was nothing wrong with living in the woods."

"Nothing wrong with a lot of things. But think what you'd have missed if you didn't leap, and stood still instead."

"This is different."

Geordi didn't need to reply. The expression on his face, his _whole_ face for once, was like a slap upside the head to Leo.

"I can't believe I said that."

"Well _that's_ good to hear."

"But why all of this analysis, I'm giving it to you. Put it in him, activate it when you make him better. I know I've been selfish, that's why I'm here."

"But you still don't believe, do you? You're doing what he wants because he wants it, not because you believe it can be the best next step for you both."

"Does it really matter?"

"It does to him."

"Look at me, Geordi, okay? _Look_ at me, and tell me what you see. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I just don't know who I am anymore."

Geordi reached for his VISOR and clicked it into place. He smiled. "I see somebody who's a whole lot braver than she thinks, or she wouldn't even be here to debate the issue."

"I hope that's good enough. Look, all this 'believe' shit aside, I _mean_ it. I want you to install this chip. Do it for him, or for us, or for the good and advancement of cybernetic research. It's just not my decision to make, I _know_ that now. I'll take a deep breath and take that leap of faith Data's always talking about. It's not quite believing but it's the best I can do. Do you think he'll understand?"

"It doesn't matter what I think. But for what it's worth, I never really believed you'd forgotten how to leap into the light. You're just out of practice."

"I'll have to take your word for it. When do you think you'll get to work on Data? Don't misunderstand me, I'm not rushing you. I'm just wondering."

Leo was surprised when Geordi gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. "I won't keep you in suspense for long. Too many good things are waiting to happen. Take my word for it."


	3. Deserve

He stood silent before her as she stood equally silent. Blank, unthinking, unjudging, a perfect receptor for all she had to say. As always. Two out of three, anyway.

"I gave it to him," she told him, "I said put it in, and I'll manage to deal with it. I'm leaping, faith and all that, because I know it's for you. I can't hold you back if it's just for me." She waited, as if for a response. None was forthcoming.

"You want to know why, and everyone else does. If I could risk it all to have us, why don't I want the absolute final step that would make it as 'real' for you as it is for me? Jesus, D, you need to know and you deserve to know. And even now you're the only one I can tell." Shut off, shut down, knowing nothing, still she knew he'd understand.

She stared at his face, inscrutable and unchallenging. "Okay, you want to know. Why am I so afraid of you being able to love me? I can't even tell Deanna, I can't tell anyone left alive, but I can tell you. But you can't hear, can you?" A moment's honest thought. "Maybe that's why." Taking a deep breath, deep enough to confess what she'd never admitted even to herself. Until now, when everything mattered.

"I had it, I had the love that forgave and accepted everything, and when it most mattered I turned away. He asked me, he _begged_ me, he told me he was losing everything, his dreams and his life, and all he wanted was for me to say I understood. We knew each other deeper than anyone else, he'd _given_ me so much more than I'd deserved, and still I couldn't give him what he needed most. When he needed 'I love you, goodbye" I said 'see ya later' as if nothing more than the everyday was happening." She gulped, struggled, and then broke down. "I should have said 'I love you, I'll miss you, you've made my life a better place' I should've said _everything_ and I said 'see ya later'. I don't deserve it, I don't deserve what you believe in and want to give me. And I don't believe it's possible, once you know who I am. I don't, even if you do. "

His face, impassive, offered no response. But somehow it didn't matter.

"I love you, D. I love you however you are, and I'll love you whoever you become. I'll love you no matter what you decide, and I'm sorry, I'm _ashamed_, to have kept you from what you deserve."

* * *

Thank goodness work was demanding. A conference of new Federation members was upcoming, and Leo wrestled with accommodations: this delegate was unfriendly with that, yet such-and-so member planet would benefit from proximity. Her intercultural skills were being worked to the max. Just as well, with multiple hours of recovery work being done on Data. 

"I think I've got the various member delegations quartered without threat of hostilities," she informed the captain. "Though that might only hold true through the first reception."

"I have full faith in your judgment, Lieutenant. Any issues will be dealt with as they arise." Picard wasn't unaware of her "off duty" concerns. While he knew that Data would be fully recovered for the requirements of duty, he was likewise cognizant of Leo's personal anxiety. A curse of their close association was the knowledge of concerns restrained by the parameters of the protocols they both adhered to.

"LaForge to Captain Picard," the captain's comport announced.

"Yes, Geordi."

"Commander Data has recovered full functions. Requesting return to duty."

"Why don't we give him awhile to adjust. Return to duty in 48 hours."

"Aye, sir. I'll relay the order. LaForge out."

Picard was silent for a moment, then, "Lieutenant?"

"I heard, sir. Undertaking the necessary crew assignments."

* * *

In spite of every apprehension, a hard day's work had rendered Leo ready and able to sleep. Deep in her slumber she felt an arm around her waist, a body pressed against her. She was barely awake and aware, but the knowledge took over. "D?" 

"Yes." He kissed her ear. She waited, tried so hard to and was unable to notice a difference. A function of her selfishness, she figured.

"Geordi asked if I wished for him to execute the new installation… the one you offered."

She turned to face him, hoping against hope her desire for his needs took precedence over her own. "And yeah, so how's it working?"

A Mona-Data smile, a kiss. "I would love no other."

It took a moment for her to understand. "But I told him, I said to give it to you. I said it was okay. I _mean_ it."

"I know it is 'okay'. I know you have faith. But I can wait until you believe."

What had overcome her in her one-sided conversation with him returned. "Data," and she couldn't stop the tears, "you don't understand…"

"Ssh," he soothed her with a closer embrace and another kiss, "I do understand. I would love no other, and there is nothing I would give you that you do not deserve."


	4. Poker and picnics

"I fold."

"Like a Ferengi contract," Will snickered as Leo dropped her cards on the table.

Beverly, Geordi and Worf stifled smiles while Data remained firmly supportive. "There is nothing to be gained by staying in with a losing hand," he reminded the others.

"That's okay," Leo told them all with a smug expression. "What I lack in poker skills I _more _than make up for in control of duty assignments. Now if it's all the same to you, I'm gonna call it a night." As her colleagues wound up for the predictable response she headed them off with, "I know, I know, it _is _a night! Shit, if you didn't all steal my lines you'd have nothing clever to say!" She rose, laying a hand on Data's shoulder in lieu of the goodnight kiss that she knew he'd pay for dearly after her exit. "See you later."

The rest bid their goodnights as Leo left Geordi's quarters. Worf won the hand in play, much to Riker's displeasure. As Geordi took up the cards to shuffle and deal, Data interrupted.

"Before we continue, I would like to seek your advice in a personal matter."

"Just smile and nod and say 'yes dear', and she'll be putty in your positronic hands," Will cracked. The rest glared at him. "What?!"

"How can we help you, Data," Beverly offered with considerably less levity than Riker.

Data reached up his sleeve and pulled out a slip of art paper.

"Cards go there," Geordi suggested.

"Not this time, Geordi. I wish to share a plan with you, and ask your help in fulfilling it." He handed the paper to Geordi. Paper was a rarity onboard the Enterprise but no surprise considering Data's artistic pursuits.

"You drew this?" Geordi inquired. He displayed it for the others, and passed it on. It was a small, precise pencil drawing of a ring featuring three oval stones, the central being the largest flanked by two slightly smaller.

"Yes. It is the ring I wish to give to Leo to seal our relationship."

"An engagement ring," Beverly commented as she passed the sketch to Worf.

"Not precisely, Doctor, I intend it to serve as a symbol of our connection in its entirety."

"It's beautifully simple," she told him.

Riker handed the drawing back to Data, putting aside his irreverence for the moment. "Like Beverly said, how can we help? It's a nice ring, should be easy to have made."

Data shifted a bit, uncharacteristically uneasy. "It is not the design that is problematic, but the stones I wish it to contain." Questioning faces all around. "I have decided that the most appropriate symbol of Leo's and my joining would be astral emeralds."

Now he was confronted with gapes of disbelief. Astral emeralds were to be found only within active volcanic areas of a select group of geologically unstable planets. Formed at the height of heat and compression, if they weren't taken from their element at precisely the right time their exquisite flames of color would be destroyed by the long cooling process. Perfectly harvested and flash-cooled, they were a deep emerald green lit with flashes of amber and topaz that captured Data's attention as representation of his and Leo's eyes. Perfectly harvested, they had caused the deaths of so many miners that the Federation had outlawed their acquisition some years before.

"Data, you can't be suggesting you'd support such a thing." Geordi and the others were shocked.

"Not at all, Geordi. It is clearly against Federation law to solicit the acquisition of newly mined stones. However," and here Data cast an eye at Riker, "there exist in many markets a quantity of previously mined stones that while only furtively available are quite technically legal to obtain."

"Why are you looking at me as if I have them in my back pocket?" Will wanted to know.

"I do not mean to imply that. But I am aware that your various social activities have brought you in contact with a variety of persons who do business 'outside of the mainstream'. If you were able to communicate my request, I would be most grateful."

"Your display of naiveté is most unbecoming, Commander," Worf suggested. "Perhaps some of your less savory acquaintances might have knowledge of the whereabouts of the stones that Data requires. It would not be the least worthy cause you have ever pursued."

Will gave up his righteous pose. "Fine. I'll see what I can find out, but no promises. And we _never_ had this conversation, understood?"

"Clearly understood, Commander," Data assured him gravely. "And thank you."

"But Data," Beverly observed, "the stones you're after are enormously valuable. However could you pay for them?"

Data smiled subtly. "That does not concern me."

* * *

"So did you whup some organic ass?" Leo wanted to know when Data returned to their quarters. She knew from hearing the stories that his learning curve in the fine art of poker had been uneven until he could grasp the notion that bluffing was _expected_ and so didn't conflict with his core honesty programming. That had been quite some time ago, in fact, long before they'd met. By now his skills behind the cards made everyone very glad that his programming didn't include greed or (too much) pride; he'd lay waste to every opponent otherwise. 

"I'm afraid Commander Worf took more hands than any of us. My concentration was not at its peak." Data slid in to sit underneath Leo where Leo lay on the sofa, having been buried in one of her endless collection of Zola novels. He couldn't claim to understand what a woman of her generally positive outlook found so enchanting in the stories of relentless and sordid misfortune, but knowing how much she enjoyed them Data had made it his business to obtain well-translated copies wherever he came across them. She set her book down and lay back in his lap to smile up at him.

"So I guess we have some stuff to plan, huh?"

Data nodded in agreement. "I believe it is well beyond time to organize our nuptials. I think you will agree that our friends will prove a valuable and necessary resource. I have never before been married, and you have claimed the same history." He waited.

"Smartass," she poked him in the titanium ribs as if it would make him grunt. "Keiko and Beverly are at the top of my consultant list."

"What about Counselor Troi?"

"I dunno… she's never been married, has she?" Leo knew the argument was not convincing so she added, "Besides I'm afraid she'd be way too warm and fuzzy and all that deep-and-meaningful stuff that shrinks just can't seem to let go of."

Data stroked a hand through Leo's hair, and the other along her arm, exploring as always, but his expression was serious. "Leo, I believe Deanna's feelings will be hurt if you do not include her among your 'consultants'. She has been very helpful and a steadfast support to you, to us both, and not only as a 'shrink'."

She grabbed one of Data's hands and kissed it. "Right as always." Leo sat up with sudden purpose. "Okay, the four horsewomen of the matrimonial apocalypse will tackle this together." Data appeared a bit uneasy.

"That does not sound like a traditionally romantic approach to the event."

She leaned down and kissed Data properly. "Didn't I tell you, I'm not a traditional romantic? Well it's too late now, you're stuck with me. Now I'm beat, I'm going to bed. You can stay up and think of all the guy stuff you and Geordi and Will and Miles have to deal with."

"Guy stuff?" Data trailed Leo into the bedroom. "I am not sure I understand."

After she'd changed Leo turned and had to smile as she took in Data's perplexed expression. "Well now that you mention it, an old fashioned bachelor party might be a waste of time. I can't picture you getting anything out of a lap dance." For just a heartbeat she noticed his "processing" expression, then the guileless expression that appeared before every smartass comment.

"I expect that would depend upon who was dancing on my lap." He added a wink for good measure. He was certain the effect wasn't what he'd hoped for; he'd never quite mastered the fine facial coordination necessary for such a subtle gesture. No matter, though, Leo dissolved in laughter.

"Well the possibility of you four combined to program any holodeck staggers the imagination, no question."

Data didn't join Leo in bed, but kissed her goodnight once she was settled. "Sleep well. I will be engaged in planning 'guy stuff'."

Leo wound up for a smart comment and thought better of it. Finally, finally they were within shouting distance of what everyone else took for granted. "Knock yourself out," she encouraged, before fading off to sleep.

* * *

What Leo first proposed as a little meeting of the minds in Ten Forward had morphed into something a lot less organized. Keiko had insisted the four of them meet in her hydroponic garden, flat-out refusing to consider a holographic facsimile of what she worked so hard to maintain in her botany labs. Deanna suggested a picnic, a "girls' night out" to take advantage of the rare event of their being off-duty simultaneously, and for a long-deferred happy purpose. Beverly got her hands on some genuine bourbon courtesy of Guinan who, while unable to attend, would take over whatever plan they conceived and bring it to fruition. Leo supplied home-cooked picnic food whipped up on her treasured direct-heat rings. Potato salad, an approximation of fried chicken ("you don't want to know" the Bajoran trader had told her when she asked what kind of bird it really was), a tray of fresh hydroponic veggies she'd grown herself, and an enormous jug of iced jasmine tea with honey that stood largely untouched as the four women indulged in forbidden alcohol. Deanna of course contributed a sizeable stash of many varieties of chocolate. 

"To Jack!" Leo declared, downing a shot and falling back in the grass of the mini-meadow tucked behind Keiko's array of indoor greenhouses, then sat bolt upright. "Oh shit, Beverly, I'm sorry."

Beverly shook her head and waved away the apology. "Nothing sorry about my life with Jack Crusher, so don't bother. Especially because you're about to embark on the same adventure with Data."

"Tell the truth," Keiko urged while sipping at her own drink (all four of them were progressing from sober to silly after a few shots apiece), "was it Miles and my wedding that pushed you over the edge?"

"Not me, but it sure launched Data. From the minute you announced your engagement them tiny positronic wheels started grinding. I didn't stand a chance. I mean, he's an android. His patience just doesn't wear out."

"That's not all that doesn't wear out, I'll bet," Beverly suggested out of the corner of her mouth.

"Do _not_go there, okay?"

Keiko stepped up willingly, "Well sometimes I wonder if Data hasn't shared a few circuits with Miles. I swear, some nights I'm tempted to hunt for circuits under his scalp!"

Snorts of drunken laughter from Deanna, who'd never been particularly good at holding her liquor. "Now _that's_ a strange place to keep them!" and all of them cracked up.

"What exactly is this? It's so _good_," Keiko inquired as she dug into the "chicken". "We're galaxies away from earth poultry."

"Its pedigree was given to me by the Bajoran trader I got it from," Leo intoned with great authority, 'don't ask.'"

More laughter and a few more shots.

"I have to tell you, Leo, " Beverly confided when the levity had receded a bit, "I've known people who would've walked away a long time ago. Or been so discouraged they just would have given up when they didn't want to. I mean there's only so far outrage can carry you, am I right?"

Leo considered this for a moment. "Maybe living in an age where outrage is usually so unnecessary, you've just forgotten how useful it can be. When adrenalin runs out, plain pissed-offedness is a mighty motivator."

"Miles is an avid student of Earth history," Keiko observed. "He says to the Irish, a thousand years still qualifies as current events. So many 'unheard of' things were happening in your lifetime, changes in society that had been inconceivable, maybe that's why falling in love with an android came so easily.

"Easily. Oh yeah, right. Lemme tell you, ladies, getting too close to_anyone_, much less falling in love with them… 'easily' isn't the first word on my list of adverbs believe me. But yeah, I guess in the end _what_ he is came a far second place to _who_ he is. Oh I dunno, who the hell can analyze something like that."

"Just think, though, if you can be so close as you are, imagine what it might be when Data achieves the human emotions he's wanted for so long. Now he has more reason than ever to achieve them." Deanna had left her counselor persona at the door, so to speak, and was speaking entirely as a woman and a friend.

In the next moment Leo could see Deanna was consciously trying to ignore her response to her comments, a response she couldn't help but sense. At the same time Keiko and Beverly didn't require any Betazoid insight to notice it as well. She decided maybe it was time to stop acting as if Data was the only one in her life who knew her well enough to understand. These weren't just crewmates, or coworkers. For years now they'd tried to be friends, _had_ been friends in every way that mattered, and it was only her own stubborn habit of selective solitude that kept her from accepting them completely. Paradigm shifts weren't only sociocultural. She looked from Beverly, to Deanna, to Keiko, all of them expectantly waiting, none of them pushing her. Somewhere inside, Data's unflagging encouragement prodded her.

"I'm not exactly the bold-ass adventurer I pretend to be. It might shock you to know what a goddamn coward I really am."

Beverly poured yet another drink and handed it to her. "No worries here. We eat the unexpected for breakfast and it hasn't killed us yet."

With those words a wall was breached that would never rise again.


	5. Planning committees

Two informal "planning committees" for bride and groom continued to meet, respectively, over munchies and Jack Daniels or poker, several times in the following week. It was Data's turn to host the game.

Worf had just thrown down his cards in disgust, as did Geordi, Will, and Miles. Data held two 8's, no flush.

"Bluffing _again_, Data?" Geordi griped in frustration; his response shared variously by companions Worf, Will, and Miles. "Don't you _ever_ play a real hand anymore?"

"The question, Geordi, is whether or not you will ever learn to _discern_ if my hand is 'real'."

As the deal passed to Worf, Will brought the game to a halt by announcing rather grandly, "Good news, Data. I've found your astral emeralds. All three of them, all of them oval, two smaller and one larger." Everyone was impressed.

"How did you manage that?" Miles wanted to know.

"Don't ask." They all laughed except Data, whose circuits seemed to be working quickly.

"When may I see them?"

Will explained somewhat cagily that a former "social director acquaintance" of his from Raisa referred him to another "acquaintance" of hers, Daimon Grok.

"Daimon Grok is a Ferengi trader." Rolled eyes all around, again excepting Data, who hung on Will's every word. "Oh, all right, he's a smuggler. A smuggler," and here Riker turned a smug and self-satisfied smile to Data, "who happens to specialize in gems and rare collectibles. Don't ask me how he managed it, but he has exactly the stones you're looking for, mined long before the run on them began taking its toll on the workers and even longer before the Federation law forbidding trade in the stones."

"Have you seen them yourself?"

"Come on, Data, you know the only thing greater than Ferengi greed is Ferengi cowardice. He has them or he wouldn't be offering to deal."

"You mean that Daimon Grok would not risk the wrath of a Starfleet officer?"

"I mean," Will shook his head and smirked meaningfully, "he wouldn't risk the wrath of the Director of Social Connectivity of Raisa."

"And there's the thing that's even _greater_ than Ferengi cowardice," Miles cracked. "Ferengi romantic desperation."

Worf was grunting to himself with distaste. "A worthy race would _not_ be forced depend upon payment to find a mate."

"That may account for Ferengi greed," Data suggested, and the others roared with laughter.

"Okay, Data, I've found your dream ring. Grok said he'd be happy to have the stone set according to your drawing." Will was very pleased with his success, albeit unwilling for its news to be shared outside their poker group.

Another hand was played; this time Miles was the lucky winner. "So who's brave enough to ask the price?" he asked his companions. All were curious that Data hadn't so much as expressed the idlest of curiosity regarding that detail.

"I was wondering when the happy bridegroom-to-be would bring that up," Will looked at Data with an arched eyebrow.

"Very well, Commander, what price did Daimon Grok request? I would like the stones to be set in pure earth platinum." Platinum, undervalued as an antiquated metal of little use in the 24th century, was paradoxically difficult to obtain by virtue of its falling into utter disuse. It hadn't been mined at all for at least a century. While there was little interest in it, paradoxically anyone who _was_ interested in obtaining it could expect the price to be high for the sheer labor-intensiveness of finding it.

Geordi couldn't help himself. "Data, do you have some little business on the side we don't know about? Astral emeralds, platinum settings, this won't just set you back a few Federation credits."

"Do not concern yourself, Geordi. " Again Data asked Will, "What price?"

Will took a breath before he spoke. While aware that Data was absolutely sincere in his wish to provide the most singularly significant and exquisitely beautiful ring imaginable to express his devotion to Leo, he likewise believed that Data simply didn't have a clue about the astronomical price and would "trade down" to something more manageable when it became clear.

"Well first of all Grok will take nothing but gold pressed latinum in payment. A thousand bars for the stones, another five hundred for the setting, and a hundred more for having a jeweler he knows create the ring to your specifications. Absolutely non-negotiable." Everyone waited for Data to realize his impractical extravagance. Instead they were dumfounded by his casual nod.

"Sixteen hundred bars of gold pressed latinum is an unsurprising amount. You may relay the information to Daimon Grok that the amount is acceptable, and tell him that I will be amenable to his arrangements to obtain the ring in exchange for payment, once I have inspected it."

"Good god, man!" Miles exploded, "Are you hoarding a bloody fortune, or what?"

Data regarded his companions calmly, and with just the hint of a smile. "Excuse me for a moment," and he disappeared into the bedroom, reappearing with what looked like a large and ornately carved block of wood roughly the size of a case of PAD memory chips. After setting it on the table he pressed one of the carved rosettes scattered among other representations of exotic flowers. An inner latch released, and he lifted the lid. The others rose as one to peer inside, then fell back into their chairs in equal unison, mouths agape in identical expressions of disbelief. The box was tightly packed with bars of gold pressed latinum.

It was safe to say that poker was finished for the evening.

"I was right," Geordi finally said weakly, "you've got something on the side."

"If by 'something on the side' you mean that I have come by this," Data indicated the box entirely unselfconsciously, "by some nefarious pursuit, you are wrong."

"Then where the hell did you _get_ it?" Will demanded.

"While playing poker."

Open-mouthed speechlessness had become the norm for the evening. As nobody seemed able to muster a comment or question, Data explained.

"During one of my conferences at Starfleet Academy, I made the acquaintance of several human officers who established a regular poker game during our stay. On the final evening, it became evident to me that one of the officers was cheating. Once I had exposed his dishonesty, he was persuaded by the anger of his fellows to confess he was a 'ringer', an extremely experienced card player who had been paid to fleece opponents and turn the winnings over to his Ferengi manager. He was a genuine Starfleet officer, and was not attending the conference under false pretenses. It seems the Ferengi make a practice of finding willing con artists who will reap profits on their behalf from other unsuspecting attendees. The other three officers in the game determined that the Ferengi 'ringer's' entire winnings obtained during the conference should be forfeit."

Worf found this hard to believe. "And he agreed to hand over thousands of bars of gold pressed latinum?"

"He had little choice," Data explained, "We were prepared to expose him to the conference authorities. He was not willing to destroy his career for the sake of one unwise decision."

"But why you?" Will wanted to know. "Why not split the winnings?"

"The conference was dedicated to security and Starfleet intelligence, and all attendees were required to be searched upon arrival and departure. The winnings, obtained in smaller increments from victims who could not be traced, amounted to more than could be credibly explained even if split into four equal shares. It was decided that I should take the winnings, and find a useful purpose for them at a later date."

"Because you didn't need to be searched… you're an _android_," Geordi concluded with a wide grin. "How long have you been sitting on this little nest egg?"

"Four years, eleven months, and seventeen days." Well before he'd met Leora O'Reilly.

"Well congratulations on finding the perfect 'useful purpose' for it," Miles reached across the table and shook his hand. "I can think of none better."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Keiko's garden, the "bridal committee" was accomplishing some wishes of its own, specifically pinning Leo down to a location for the wedding. With the death of Boothby her heart had quite gone out of holding the ceremony on Earth, and though Holodeck 1 was the prime choice for any shipboard wedding there remained the choice of what location to create. 

"I don't know enough about Earth or anywhere else in this century to have a favorite spot in mind," Leo confessed a little woozily. They'd been enjoying more Jack than snacks tonight.

"Well you have to go for something meaningful," Deanna insisted, a little tiddly herself. In fact all four of them were a few shots past sober.

"I have it!" Beverly announced. Being only one of the two women who'd ever been married, and having been so for quite a bit longer than Keiko, she was often deferred to as an "expert" during the recent discussions. She leaned clumsily toward Leo, who was wavering between sitting up and lying down in Keiko's quite genuine spring grass. "How about the place where you had your first kiss?"

Leo blinked, brow furrowed. "I don't think there's enough room in the corridor outside the cadet quarters."

Beverly made a disappointed face. "Guess not."

Keiko, the most nearly sober of the four, offered, "Well it doesn't have to be current time, does it? Just because you met Data here doesn't mean there's no place in your past that would be significant, if you had to choose where to meet the love of your life."

Now Leo was lying down, staring at the false blue sky over their heads. Keiko filtered the ultraviolet lights to prevent too intense a glare.

"My house."

"Your house? The one in the woods?"

"Yeah, Deanna, the last place I loved to be before coming here."

Beverly was still looking challenged. "But how could we do that? I suppose I could do a survey of your memories in sickbay, but I don't know that it would work on you the same as someone from this century. It could be difficult to recreate in complete detail…"

Leo was smiling now, a private smile she was completely willing to share. "It's already been done." She related the tale of Data's elaborate recreation of her home, the effort it required, and the reasons he did so. Deanna's expression became dreamy.

"My god, that's _so_ romantic!"

"Yeah, ain't it? And he's an _android_, ladies." Leo's attitude had become rather smug. "Stack _that_ up against your organic males."

"And from someone who can't even 'love' you," Keiko said a little sadly.

Eyes still closed, smile widening, Leo assured her friends, "Oh, he loves me all right. More than anybody I ever knew. He just doesn't believe it yet."

They began to share stories then, stories of when each of them knew their men were the ones they'd be "stuck with for life", married or no. As expected, Beverly went first.

"It was at one of those formal Starfleet affairs. Something acknowledging the contributions of someone or other to the medical future of the Federation, I don't remember what or who. I just remember Jack, in his formal uniform, standing rather stiffly with some colleagues. I decided right then and there that I wouldn't leave that party without him in my life. So I asked him if he'd like to go out on the balcony and look at the meteor showers, and he said yes. And that, ladies, was that."

Deanna's dreamy look returned. "Love at first sight…"

Leo reached for the bottle again, shaking off Keiko's warning hand. "I don't have duty tomorrow, I'm good. So Deanna, was it like that for you and Will?"

Beverly and Deanna both laughed. "More like conflict at first sight. Will wasn't what you'd call a fan of therapists or therapy, and my first assignment on the Enterprise was to do a baseline interview with all senior officers."

"Gulp," said Leo. "But I have to admit it's nice to know he has the right attitude!" Deanna poked her hard in the ribs. "Ouch!"

"Well you asked for it. No, with Will and me it was more against our better judgment, we were different in so many ways. Even though we were attracted to each other and recognized a certain resonance, he insisted on pretending it wasn't there."

"Bet being a Betazoid came in handy," Leo suggested.

"Well it certainly eliminated a lot of the usual doubts about what he might or might not be feeling. How it would work out was anyone's guess."

"See?" Beverly poked Leo much more gently than Deanna had done, afraid she was falling asleep. Leo's eyes snapped open.

"What?"

"_Nobody_ knows how it's going to turn out."

"Relax, will you, I told you all I'm over that."

"Well just in case you need to be reminded."

"Anyway," Deanna continued, "I knew we were bound for each other one day on the bridge."

"What happened?" Leo asked, now fully focused.

"I just… _looked_ at him, in the second officer's chair. And I knew. No sparks, no fireworks, I just saw him sitting there, listening to a command from the captain, and I knew we were locked for life."

"With Miles and I it was a very quiet thing," Keiko spoke up. "You wouldn't think so to see him carry on with his friends, but Miles was very shy with me at first. He comes from a family of very loving people, with very firm ideas about how to treat women. In a good way, that is. And it really surprised me when he first started talking to me in Ten Forward, and wanted to spend time with me. I just didn't think I was his 'type', and assumed he was much too loud and gregarious for me. But it didn't take long to find out I was wrong."

Silence fell for a few moments.

"Well? Don't you have anything to contribute?" Keiko demanded of Leo with uncharacteristic aggressiveness.

"Okay, okay. But you all know I'm not the soul of romance."

"Yeah, right," Beverly challenged. "An anti-romantic pragmatist could inspire her man to mine the brains of others to create her past home and make her feel strong and secure again. Just give it up, will you?" Never a shrinking violet, Beverly became even more outspoken after a few drinks. Leo struggled to a sitting position, helped by a shove from Keiko, who was also waiting impatiently.

"Well I know when I first _told_ Data I loved him, it wasn't long after I came to the Enterprise. He'd recreated a walk in the woods, just based on what I'd told him now and then, because he was concerned I wasn't adjusting very well."

Deanna dropped her face in her hands. "My _gawd_, why did I settle for a _human_?"

"But that was just when I overcame my denial, when I had the guts to say the words."

"_Well_?" all three women cried out in unison.

"He took me dancing. That first week we met, at the Academy. We went to the Neutral Zone, this academy bar, and I was stupid enough to ask him to dance not knowing he could _really_ dance." This elicited a proud smile from Beverly. "Yeah, he told me all about it. Anyway I thought I'd be clever and requested some old earth big band stuff, and pulled him onto the dance floor. Little did I know. I was mortified, he was so smooth and I'd just assumed he wouldn't know how. He insisted on teaching me, and he was so patient and took me dancing almost every night after that. It was as if he'd accidentally discovered this thing we had in common, and he wouldn't give up on helping me enjoy it even more. And when we danced, the way he led me as if it was all _my_ idea… it was like dancing with Fred Astaire. Like dancing on air. And I swear, it sounds crazy, but even in uniform, he looked to me like he was wearing a tuxedo."

Only Beverly was very familiar with him. "Fred Astaire, the smoothest most romantic man in dancing history, you say he felt like Fred Astaire, dancing on air, and you have the nerve to claim you're not a romantic?"

"I guess I just never believed it until you put it like that."

Deanna was nodding and smiling. "Right. Like Data doesn't believe he loves you. Funny what you can find out about yourself if you just relax and believe it."


	6. Sharp dressed man

The effects of the Jack-and-snack picnics on the Bridal Committee were typically more intoxicating in mood than physiology. In terms of hard drinkers the 24th century bred generations of lightweights, and for all of their silliness and feelings of reckless abandon, the single bottle of Jack was holding up quite well even after five "planning meetings" over two weeks. By this point enough real plans had been laid and shared with Guinan that not much remained other than to program the holodeck and select their attire. Data had broken ranks somewhat with the Grooms Committee had taken responsibility for selecting the music for the reception, secretly enlisting the aid of Leo's fellow "committee women". As a result, the most recent picnics in Keiko's garden had been for the sheer enjoyment of lying in the grass and exploring the nuances of relationships.

This time Leo got a bit careless. As she warmed to the tales of true love (a subject she rarely entertained while cold sober), and to her deepening friendship with the women she'd too long kept at a distance, Leo fell into a habit of her past. She tended to refill her glass whenever she noticed it was empty. Thus while Keiko, Beverly, and even Deanna were quite self-possessed by the time their chat session broke up, Leo's glow hadn't subsided much even after Beverly discreetly removed the bottle from view. Far from being seriously drunk, Leo was nonetheless noticeably "looser" than usual.

"You're going to go straight to your quarters, right?" Keiko advised more than inquired. Beverly and Deanna volunteered to accompany her.

"For christsake, women, it's not like I'm falling down," and to prove it Leo got to her feet with little trouble. Her stance was steady but her mood and demeanor were, well, a bit liquid. "Don't worry so much, all I wanna do is go home to my digital dreamboat and call it a night. And Beverly, better give that bottle back to Guinan. You guys are way too easy to party with." After agreeing their next task would be to consult with Holodeck Engineering to finalize the programming details, the Bridal Committee parted company for the evening.

"You'd be soooo nice to come home toooooo," Leo sang as she swept into her quarters. My god, she thought, I haven't channeled Cole Porter in ages. Data was seated at his console, deep in his assignment du jour. She couldn't even pretend to understand most of what he did, thinking of it in general as "second officer/science/computer stuff" and leaving it at that. When he did explain this task or that project she listened with interest, appreciating his skill at expressing it in mostly understandable terms even as she struggled to process. He, on the other hand, grasped every detail of her work and responsibilities. It was hard work sometimes, being in love with a perfectly perfect genius. Data looked up from his computer screen.

"You'd be so nice by the fire," Data responded with the following line in his mellow baritone. "Did you enjoy your Committee Meeting?" He was well aware that planning had given way to pure socializing, as his "meetings" with Worf, Geordi, Will, and Miles had given over to an additional excuse to play poker and finalize the arrangements for the purchase of Leo's ring. She slouched out lazily on the sofa and Data took his cue to join her.

"You have been consuming genuine alcoholic beverages," he observed with mock severity as she moved to give him room, then fairly oozed back to lie across his lap. "I am concerned that you may have fallen in with the 'wrong element'. It has been said that when certain groups of women gather, there may be trouble as a result."

"Oh, pffflllt," Leo responded. "No more trouble than you're used to."

Now Data smiled "that" smile. "I am glad you have formed social relationships with Keiko, Beverly, and Deanna. I confess that at times I was concerned that you would keep entirely to yourself when there was no need to."

"Well not _entirely_ to myself, D," Leo pulled Data down for a kiss. When she released him he chided gently, "You understand what I mean. And it would be unfortunate to share your most special and worthwhile qualities only with me."

"Sweet talker." She took one of Data's hands in hers and observed, "You'd have been surprised at me tonight. Everybody started talking about romance and falling in love and all, and I didn't clam up or make jokes. Beverly said how she picked out Jack almost the minute she saw him, and Deanna said it was a struggle with Will until one day she just looked at him in the middle of the bridge and knew that was that. Keiko said Miles took her by surprise but she figured out they belonged together pretty quickly." Leo lapsed into silence, feeling Data's questioning eyes on her even as her own wandered to where Spot was stretched out by Data's desk. "You really do want to know, don't you? What I said about us, I mean."

"If you would like to tell me."

Leo smiled up at Data then, a tipsy/dreamy/totally besotted smile. "Fred Astaire." Data's brow furrowed as he processed madly and came up empty.

"Fred Astaire? I do not understand."

"I told them about how you taught me to dance, and when we were in that club at the Academy and I was trying hard to be so cool you taught me to dance, and you were like Fred Astaire. That's how I saw you, smooth and classy and to die for, I told them that even in uniform when we were dancing I saw you in a tuxedo, so handsome, teaching me to dance on air." The residual effects of the bourbon and camaraderie inspired Leo to elaborate on what she'd told her friends. Suddenly she felt almost shy. "Even though it took a lot longer for me to figure it out, and even longer to tell you, I think you had me from Moonlight Serenade."

Data traced light fingertips through Leo's hair, while the other hand wandered back and forth on her stomach. Exploring, always exploring. "I believe you 'had me' from 'smartass'."

"Huh?"

"You responded to who I am instead of accepting what I am not."

"Just lazy, I guess. All that accepting and allowing and settling is too labor intensive." She thought for a moment. "Then again, I don't think I've ever had to labor so intensively for anything in my life."

"I know that what we have achieved in ourselves and will become together has been and will be well worth any intensity of labor." After a moment he added, "I have always known that."

To her surprise, Leo grew teary-eyed and tried to cover it by kissing Data's hand. "And I would love no other," she whispered into his palm. "I always knew that, too."

* * *

Several nights later Keiko and the others insisted on taking their gathering to Ten Forward, ostensibly to discuss reception logistics with Guinan. Guinan had insisted on providing live as opposed to holographic staff and catering the reception using cuisines that would draw on a wide variety of cultures using non-replicated ingredients. She'd taken the rare step of joining Leo, Keiko, Beverly, and Deanna at their table after seating by the spaceport. Leo didn't notice how she was subtly steered to a seat facing away from the entrance to the lounge. 

After about half an hour, Guinan returned to the bar to answer a comlink hail. Sure, she was heard to say, now's fine.

They'd been discussing potential wedding wear when Leo sensed the usual Ten Forward buzz of laughter-punctuated conversation drop off abruptly, and couldn't help but notice her companions focus their attention past where she sat, in the direction of the door. All three shared the same smiles of near-rapture.

"What _are_ you looking at?" Leo demanded, and whatever words she would have spoken next were left lying useless in her mouth when she turned to see Data approach. Worf, Will, Geordi and Miles stood back by the door as if standing by for moral support, but they may as well have been invisible for all that Leo noticed them.

She sat, mouth open and eyes wider than any spaceport on the Enterprise. Data stood before her, breathtakingly handsome in a gorgeously tailored black tuxedo with full tails, burgundy silk brocade waistcoat, and a tab tie of the same burgundy silk. Had Fred Astaire been in attendance he would have slunk away in humiliated defeat. Not waiting for her to respond Data dropped elegantly to one knee, pulled an emerald-green velvet box from his waistcoat pocket, and held it in front of Leo as if making an offering. Which, of course, he was. He spoke as if nobody else were in the room but the two of them.

"Leora Eileen," Data told her quietly, "I invite you to join me to make our lives more than they have been, and more than you might imagine they could become. I would love no other, and I would marry no other. I ask only that you might do the same."

He opened the box, and there lay the ring that had taken nefarious negotiations, a king's ransom in gold pressed latinum, and an extraordinary friendship to achieve. Still Leo sat as if hypnotized, not entirely an inaccurate description. She could barely tear her eyes away from the shifting golden shimmers in the deep green of the astral emeralds. That is until the intensity of Data's expectant gaze pulled her eyes to his. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

A sharp dig in her back (courtesy of Deanna) broke the trance. "My god, Data, yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" and Leo slid from her chair to seize Data with such strength that he only barely managed to keep them upright. Then her grip gentled and she drew back to whisper, forehead pressed to his, "Yes."

Data took the ring from the box and slipped it on Leo's left ring finger as Ten Forward erupted in raucous applause and spontaneous shouts such as "Well it's about time!" The quartet of senior officers standing in the doorway nodded and smiled smugly at one another, supremely pleased with themselves. As the commotion died down, a quietly resonant voice could be heard projecting from a dim corner at the end of the bar.

"Well done, Mr. Data, well done."

All assembled turned with varying expressions of disbelief to see their captain, as remarkable a sight in Ten Forward as a Cardassian would be in church. Without rising from where she knelt with Data, Leo called to Picard with all the warmth of her certain knowledge that none of this would have happened without his fierce support.

"You will, of course, make it so."

"Just try and stop me, Lieutenant."


End file.
